A Vampire's Christmas
by EternalSorrow
Summary: One Christmas Eve Seras feels the full burden of being a vampire. AxS


A/N: A Christmas Special, to tell everyone I'm still writing and to celebrate the holiday. A little depressing but every cloud has its silver lining.

**A Vampire's Christmas**

"Bloody hell," Seras Victoria muttered under her breath as more shots rang out around her, sending chunks of plaster into her face and clothes. She quickly looked at her wristwatch, noting the hour to be almost nine, and huffed in annoyance.

Tonight was Christmas Eve, a time to celebrate and be merry, but the young vampire was spending such a joyous night battling evil. Hellsing had been called to a residential part of old London to deal with an infestation of Freak vampires and been ambushed, their reputation obviously preceding their arrival with several heavily armed ghouls awaiting their raid.

Seras cursed her luck for being caught so unaware, having separated herself from the human squads and taken the third story alone. Hearing voices ahead, she had quickly rounded a corner and found herself within an empty hallway with many doors. More than a little confused and wary, she had cautiously walked down the passage only to be suddenly assaulted upon both sides. Quickly she had learnt the bullets were filled with silver as several grazed her, cutting her uniform and burning her skin. With trained skill she had managed to dodge most of the shots-though one of her legs and left arm were now useless-and had ducked into a protective alcove.

Now here she sat, waiting for the fools to run out of bullets, occasionally firing shots to keep them at a safe distance.

Seras winced as she shifted her leg, the silver bullets lodged within the appendage burning with each movement. She could hear the fighting on the lower floors, shots being fired and men shouting. She was unable to communicate with anyone else, her headgear having been blown off even as she rolled into her haven.

Seeing no other way out, Seras breathed a loud sigh and suddenly rolled into the line of fire. She winced as several shots tore into her arms and stomach but ignored the pain as she steadied her rifle. With precision aim her bullets tore into the heads of four out of the six targets, cursing as the two she had missed hid behind other alcoves. She was forced to return to her own shielded hole as the enemies counterattacked, leaning against a near wall and gasping with pain as she bled heavily.

Morbidly Seras smirked at the blood on the ground beneath her, the color reminding her of the season. However, her attention was returned to the battle when she heard the sounds of shots coming from the stairs behind the Freaks who had her pinned down. The two enemies turned their own gunfire on the approaching Hellsing troops but were quickly silenced as their heads were blown from their bodies.

Seras sighed as the building quieted, standing up and wincing as she strode out of her alcove and began to walk toward the troops. She saluted the men, who quickly moved out of her path with some fear at her bloodied appearance, and stepped down the stairs. The cleaning crew rushed past her as she exited the building, limping toward one of the vans in relief. She climbed into the vehicle and seated herself on one of the benches, leaning her head back and resting her eyes for a moment.

However, her break was soon interrupted by a familiar, and unwelcome, laugh surrounding her.

Seras once more sighed deeply, opening her eyes, and nearly fell off the bench as she stared directly into the gaze of several scarlet orbs.

"Master!" she scolded, catching herself just in time to avoid a crash out of the van.

"Police Girl," he countered, all but one pair of eyes disappearing as the disembodied orbs floated around the young vampire. "You disappoint me."

"And what's new?" Seras asked sarcastically, trying to become comfortable even as the silver bullets still lodged in her body burned her skin. "What have I done now?"

"The usual," Alucard spoke, the rest of his body appearing before his fledgling. "Still clinging on to your humanity with this foolish celebration."

"Forgive me, Master," Seras wearily said with little conviction to her words, closing her eyes to block out his form. "I still want to celebrate Christmas, even if I'm no longer human."

Surprisingly Alucard was silent, causing Seras to open her eyes in confusion. She groaned as her eyes only fell upon empty air, realizing the older vampire probably hadn't even heard her words. Then the other troops entered the van, pushing the memory from her thoughts even as she moved to make room for the men. The drive back was rowdy, the men celebrating a rare victory without casualties and Christmas Eve dinner waiting for them as home.

Seras herself turned her gaze away from the happy faces, a dull ache in her heart forming at the realization she could not join them in their gay spirits. She, a vampire by choice-which Alucard repeatedly reminded her of-would spend another evening alone. On such a night her lonely existence was most felt, making her perceive the full effects for the outcast she was.

Depressed and isolated, Seras searched her pocket for the glasses she had found one day while during a mission. The lenses were scuffed and the frame was badly damaged, but she had been wanting a pair and their arrival had been opportune. Almost joyously did she find the pair, the dark tints perfectly hiding her ruby red eyes, and placed the accessories upon her head. Of late she had taken to doing such, the glasses an almost physical barrier between her fellow troops and her. The act seemed to deaden the pain of the separation slightly, though she knew wearing a dark-tinted pair would only further scare the new recruits. The young vampire also noted, with a lessening feeling of disturbance, the similarity between her custom and her master's preference for the same accessory.

Mentally shrugging her shoulder with indifference Seras noticed the vehicle had arrived upon the Hellsing grounds. Parking in the garage, the men hurriedly jumped out, eager to go to their homes or parties, and quickly made their way to the barracks. Within moments only the young vampire remained, the silence around her almost oppressing.

Slowly Seras stood and stepped out of the van, not caring she was leaving her gun behind unattended. She would be scolded for such negligence later, after the commander returned from his Christmas vacation, but at the moment she couldn't summon up enough energy to care. Trudging her way through the manor entrance she pocketed her glasses and slowly turned her direction toward the kitchen. Even Walter had the night off, because of the holiday, and he had forced a promise from her for the young vampire to fetch and _drink_ her blood.

Sighing deeply, Seras walked into the kitchen and lethargically retrieved a blood packet from the fridge, seating herself at the table. Several long minutes, or possibly hours for all she cared, passed as she merely stared at the offending liquid, wondering if she should attempt once more to drink. Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, with little care about her humanity during this cruel night, she grabbed the packet and sank her fangs into the plastic.

Seras nearly coughed as the blood rushed into her mouth, attempting to ignore the voice screaming in her head about how wrong her action was. Finally, with the bag nearly drained, she released her hold and tossed the packet into the garbage can, not caring that the maid would not find the surprise pleasant the day after Christmas.

Standing slowly to her feet, Seras made her way out of the kitchen just as the grandfather clock in the foyer rang out the time. Curiously she listened, counting the chimes until the last echoes of the bells had faded.

Twelve o'clock. Midnight. Christmas Day.

Seras once more sighed deeply, shaking her head sadly and turning to walk down the basement stairs. However, a sudden ruckus attracted her attention, causing her head to turn to the opposite side of the foyer.

Apparently the bachelors of the Hellsing troops, who had stayed in their barracks celebrating the festival holiday, had been allowed to bring in some alcoholic beverages. However, judging by the smell wafting down the hallways, Seras surmised they had brought in substances Integra was not made aware of. She felt queasy as she inhaled the odors of the drinks, food, and miscellaneous other digestible stuffs, her vampiric inability to eat such things almost causing her to vomit at the mere suggestion.

Suddenly the men burst forth from their barracks, entering the foyer in a rowdy display of revelry. Seras took a step back, hoping to avoid detection long enough to dash into the kitchen, but she was not fast enough.

"Hey cutie!" one of them shouted, apparently the more drunk and boisterous of the crowd.

The yelling and pointing by the shouter caused the rest of the crowd to turn their heads in Seras' direction, giving her little wanted attention. Nervously she watched as they all swaggered up to her, cat-calls and innuendoes being yelled from the group. She backed up against a wall, wondering whether she should try to make a quick escape with as few casualties as possible or simply amuse them with a little talk.

And nothing else.

After all, Seras told herself, these were the newest of the recruits, men barely out of the academies. They had been on few missions, had lost few companions yet, and were now highly intoxicated. The greatest reason, however, which held her from injuring any of them was the day on which she would commit such an act.

It was Christmas Day.

However, Seras' patience was soon tried as they gathered round her, blocking all escape without violence. She steadfastly tried to ignore them, hoping to discourage the group, but they only took insult at her behavior. They began prodding her, yelling open insults about her parentage, vampire and human, with the leader being the one who had first spotted her. However, her attitude changed when the man suddenly reached out and plucked her glasses from her pocket where she had placed them. He held them just out of her reach, swinging them in the air with a cruelly teasing manner.

"Give them back!" Seras ordered, moving forward to grab them only to have them snatched from her reach.

"You ignored us," the man plainly observed, swinging one of the arms of the glasses in his hand.

Suddenly he took the entire object in his grasp and tightly fisted his hand, the cracking of glass and metal echoing in the hall.

Seras could suffer no more.

With a sudden swift movement Seras moved behind the leader and had grabbed his arms, wrenching them backward with a powerful pull. The cracking which followed stopped the men's merriment, causing them all to take many fearful steps away from the young vampire.

Then Seras unceremoniously dropped him to the floor, more in shock of her actions than for any conscious act. She watched as the man scrambled away from her, his bruised but unbroken arms trembling beneath his weight. Moving toward him, to apologize and help, caused only further stress to both herself and the man.

"M-monster!" he cried, cringing as she stepped before him.

However, Seras stopped and merely looked pityingly down at the terrified soldier at her feet, shaking her head and turning away from him. Ignoring the stares of the others she stooped and grabbed the glasses which had fallen from his grasp, standing and making her way to her room with her beloved treasure in her hands. She had almost completed the journey when she suddenly stopped beside her door, a sniffle escaping her as she stared down at her closed fist.

Seras leaned her back against the wall near her door, blood tears streaming from her eyes as she opened her palm. The glasses were broken beyond repair, the frame cracked and the lenses fractured. With a sudden cry of both anguish and anger she hurled the remains to the floor, the tiny sound of glass breaking echoing along the cold hall.

Turning away from the mess, Seras opened her door and walked in.

Only to halt in her tracks in surprise.

Seras looked into her room in puzzlement, having noticed a small, red package upon her bed. She slowly walked into her room and stepped toward the decorated box, her head tilting to the side in curiosity. She reached out and picked up the simple square box, examining all sides for any sort of trick from the fellows. Seeing nothing to arouse her suspicion, other than the sudden arrival of the mysterious present, she carefully grabbed the ribbon and pulled the bow.

With shaking hands she lifted out of the box a new pair of sunglasses, the crimson tint of the lenses shining almost gaily in the light above. With a widening smile she placed them on her head, marveling at the perfect fit and comfortable bridge.

Then did Seras finally notice a small piece of paper among the wrapping. Curiously she picked up the sheet, looking at the note and finding a few words written upon one side.

_Befitting a vampire_

Seras smiled at the words, knowing full well whom the letter had come from. Silently she offered a thanks to him, hugging the card and to herself as she slowly sat on the bed.

It had been a merry Christmas after all.


End file.
